SATO 2009 Serie A Awards: Most Improved Squad

byDavidonJuly 1, 2009

Cagliari Calcio is usually a club on the brink of relegation. In the last three seasons, Cagliari has barely been able to fend off opponents finishing 14th, 16th, and 14th respectively. All three years the Rossoblu have survived demotion to Serie B by a few matches and in some cases just a few points. This year though Cagliari transitioned from a mediocre bottom of the rankings club into a top ten finisher. Cagliari improved a league best five spots in the rankings this year and finished the year in ninth place.

Cagliari’s biggest impact this year was on the offensive side of the ball. Robert Acquafresca led the team in goals with fourteen and has made a serious impact on the club in his only two seasons with the Rossoblu. Last year the forward put up ten goals in his first year in the Serie A. Neves Capucho Jeda was the most improved player on the squad putting up an impressive eleven goals this year to improve on his three from last season.

Offensively the club has made the most improvement. Two seasons ago when the club narrowly avoided relegation in 16th place, Cagliari only scored a lowly thirty-five goals for the season. Last year with the addition of Acquafresca, the club improved that total to forty goals for the season. And this year the Rossoblu continued their development and finished the year with forty-nine goals. If Cagliari can continue to improve year-by-year then very soon you can expect to see them qualify for a spot in the UEFA tournament for the 2010/2011 season.